Pause

Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?

Think

God rested after making the world. Jesus rested after healing the sick.

Without rest, your bones wear out, you groan all day long, you feel like there’s a heavy hand upon you and your energy’s sapped.

Maybe you’ve got a sin to confess today — get it off your chest and give it to God. It’s already forgiven.

Or maybe your sin is just a frantic persistent busyness — the disease of our day.

Whatever it is, the Sabbath is a day to start over. Clean the slate of what’s bothering you. Put the work aside for tomorrow. Ask what sparks joy and makes your heart sing.

No one knows for sure what that word “Selah” means, that punctuates the Psalms. Some scholars think it’s a musical notation. Others think it means “So be it.” I don’t know exactly, but I like to think “Selah” is just a slow exhale. A breathing out.

Pray

Dear Jesus,
You said to your disciples,
“Come away by yourself to a lonely place for a while.
Come to me, all ye who are weary and heavy-laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and lowly of heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light.”
Amen.

Go

Go into this day brave.
Go into this day believing.
Go into this day knowing
that you are already enough.

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writer

Cari Pattison

Cari Pattison loves being a pastor. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), she’s been a minister at The Reformed Church of Bronxville — near New York City — for almost ten years. She moonlights as a fitness instructor, having taught Jazzercise, yoga, barre, and Pilates over the past eight years. Kansas City will always be home for Cari, whose refrigerator is covered with pictures of her three baby nieces.

music

Reflections on the Way: Jesus the Very Thought of Thee/How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place